Former Minister Carl Scully’s opinion-editorial in today’s Sydney Morning Herald shows cost-shifting to Local Government is an integral part of NSW Labor Government policy – further evidence that they’re out of ideas, Shadow Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Chris Hartcher, said today.

Former Roads Minister Carl Scully today launched his new revision of history – a re-writing of the Carl Scully story, which paints Sydney as a utopian network of bicycle paths dreamed up by the Minister himself. But it all came undone when the former Minister started on his very own plan for the future:

“…why not where appropriate, share footpaths? Local councils would have to step up and start building much wider footpaths”

Carl Scully, SMH, 11 November 2009

“Cost-shifting to Local Government is such an intrinsic part of the broken Labor Party culture that it was, is and always will be the first option for any new Labor policy initiative.

“Carl Scully’s revisionist essay shows that cost-shifting was an integral part of the Labor Party policy development process under Bob Carr and there’s nothing in place to suggest that anything has changed.

“Premier Nathan Rees has well and truly shown this week that he has lost control of his incompetent Government and his plan to turn things around is looking more and more desperate,” Mr Hartcher said.

“First he dragged his Labor Premiers predecessors out of retirement to spruik for him.

“Now the former Roads Minister is out re-writing history but it didn’t take too long for the old Labor colours to come shining through.

“The man who gave us the Cross City Tunnel and the E-tag fiasco wants us to build more cycleways and he wants Councils to pay for it.

“In addition to graffiti removal, private security in place of police, maintenance of previously State Government roads, environmental management and continuation of other previously State Government services, financing a Scully cycleway plan would cripple Sydney councils,” Mr Hartcher said.

“Premier Nathan Rees must today reject Carl Scully’s proposal to burden Local Councils with the cost of a cycleway network.